Fordham Women’s Tennis competed in two conference matches this weekend beginning on Saturday against the University of Richmond, followed by rival Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to close out the weekend on Sunday.

The first Atlantic 10 matchup against Richmond proved to be a successful one for Fordham as they won 4-2. Starting with the doubles matches, the duo of graduate student Valeriya Deminova and senior Avery Aude defeated their opponents 7-5, while graduate student Carlota Casasampere Escoda and senior Rachelle Yang also won 6-3. The dominating doubles play continued for Fordham, and it is always promising to see the team capitalize on their strengths and start with a one-point lead by controlling those matches. Next, in singles play, Deminova continued her strong day by defeating Leonor Oliviera 6-2 in both sets. Other singles wins included Casasampere Escoda’s triumph over Richmond’s Marta Buendia 6-2, 7-5. Junior Eleni Fasoula secured the win in three sets by scores of 7-5, 3-6 and 7-5. The only losses on the day were the narrow losses from sophomore Lorraine Bergmann 6-3, 6-4 and Aude losing her singles matches 7-6, 6-2.

Sunday’s match didn’t go as smoothly as the day before — the team lost to the defending A-10 champion VCU Rams by a score of 4-3. This is the team’s first contest against the Virginia school since losing to them in the A-10 championship last season. It started out rough, with both teams of graduate student Lindsay Hung and Fasoula and Casasampere Escoda and Yang losing their doubles matches by scores of 6-2 and 6-1, respectively. After losing the doubles point, the singles matches provided a bit more success when Fasoula, Aude and Casasampere Escoda all earned a point each with their wins. However, VCU picked up three singles wins themselves. The doubles point would prove to be the costly deciding factor.

After the Rams played the Rams on Sunday, Fordham will continue their Ram battles when they face the University of Rhode Island Rams at home on Saturday. Rhode Island is an inferior opponent on paper, sitting at just 5-12 on the season. However, any in-conference opponent should never be underestimated, and it will be crucial for Fordham to not play down to their competition. This would be an important win for Fordham and would push them above .500 as they currently sit at 7-7 on the year. The team is in the final stretch of the season, and the A-10 tournament is coming up just around the corner later this month.